What are the pros and cons with having a commuter rail system?

Question

the city of Milwaukee and the surrounding cities is looking into having a commuter rail installed. there are many good reasons to have one, better way of traveling, creates more jobs, it's faster. then there are few bad reasons that many people have on their minds, is the cost of having it, and what it would do with taxes, and who will be paying for it.

so what are the pros and cons to having commuter rail?

Answer 1

Pros:  less traffic congestion, less pollution/smog, cheaper transportation for everyone.

Cons:  huge initial investment.

Answer 2

Pros - less congestion, spurs development, less wear and tear on personal vehicles, just another option to commuting,

cons - financial issues.

I really hope the KRM gets built, and not only that but extend it to port washington,  extend it to west bend.  Nashville, which is slightly smaller in city size, and metropolitan size just completed a commuter rail system to Lebanon, which is roughly 30,000 people.  Milwaukee NEEDS to do the same thing.  cities with some sort of rail transportation for people tend to be more prosperous.  I could give many examples.

Answer 3

No public transportation system in the United States makes enough money from fares to cover its costs of operation.

A commuter rail system however does have unseen public benefits (positive externalities, in econ lingo). Lower income people can get around without expending the monies necessary to buy and maintain an automobile. The objection to this is that the costs of a commuter rail represent a "transfer of wealth" from the relatively rich to the relatively poor, a cash flow that we've experienced as non-beneficial in the long term.

But, the hidden positive externalities do not stop at a rich-to-poor transfer. Commuter rail lessens pollution, decreases traffic gridlock, and often reclaims unused railroad property that is redundant to a road system. None of these benefits can be paid by individuals but they are all goods enjoyed by the entire community.

That community in the end must make a political choice on the desirability of funding a commuter rail system.

Answer 4

OK. Look at a map of Pennsylvania and look for Harrisburg and Lancaster.

They recently completed a sudy of the feasability of a light rail line between the two cities. Keeping the fare at a level which would attract passengers, it would still require a subsidy of $ 92.00 per passenger.

The governor of the state said, there is no way the taxpayers could be expected to pay for this line.